Persona: The Clockwork Journey
by britza
Summary: In a certain town exists a gateway to the realm of the gods. One group seeks to liberate it. The other, abuse it. Two mercenaries are hired for both sides. Hate held between the two of them, they will use the mysterious power of Persona to win.
1. Chapter 1: The Offer

**Author's Note:** Hello, all! I am trying my hand on fanfiction, and this is my first work. Mind you, it's an original work set in the Persona universe, but I am using plenty of concepts present in series such as Type-Moon series (in which you shall see plenty). Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything in the Persona, Megami Tensei, or any other series universe.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Offer<strong>

_**April 8, 2019**_

_8:00 PM_

"Vincent. Open up the door for our guest, will you?"

The black-haired man, tall in height, but otherwise not too remarkable in appearance, nodded as he walked and opened the door. Upon swinging it open, there was an old man who stood on a cane. He wore a black suit, and had a rather hunched posture. His eyes were like glowing orbs, his nose was crooked, and his smile was even more crooked. He had hair on the side of his head, but no hair on the top of his head. In other words, the old man in front of him had a rather eccentric personality.

"Good day, Abel. My name is Igor. I have tried to contact you many times before, but it seems you don't sleep."

The boy behind the desk, whose feet was on top of the desk, kicked himself away from the desk and stood up at his full height. He wasn't very tall, but not very short. A person of average height, really. He had blue hair with locks of black all over, that was somewhat long, ending at his shoulder, and eyes of two different colors. The left was purple, the right was red. His skin was more of a snowy white, rather than pale. His face was somewhat feminine, enough that people might mistake him for the wrong gender. He would be identified as male by a fair few, and the man named Igor could tell that the person in front of him was male.

"Yeah, I'm an insomniac. You can contact people through their dreams? Sounds kinky. Anyways, what is that you need to talk to me about?"

Igor took a seat down on the couch. Vincent walked over to the side, lighting up a cigarette as Abel sat down on the couch opposite of Igor. It was a rather small office, but the group could afford this much. Igor cupped his hands over the top of the cane, and grinned all too much at Abel.

"You see, I usually come to certain people with certain talents through dreams. It's the closest thing I have of contacting their soul. But, you see, I notice you don't sleep. Is there any reason why?"

"I'd like to keep that personal, Igor. Continue on."

"Very well. I come to people based on their destinies, and I reveal their future adventures to them with fortune telling. You might not believe it, but it is quite accurate, and it is the real thing. However, I can tell you have no wish to get one. The way you work, you prefer a business proposal. So I have one. A job offer, perfect for one of your trade. Do you wish to hear?"

Abel leaned back on his chair, and watched Igor quietly. The clock on the wall ticked for nearly a minute before Abel reached a suitable response and decision.

"Shoot it out."

Igor's grin, which appeared to be as wide as it can get, grew even wider.

"Very well. I appreciate that you think your decisions through and take responsibility for them. Such is essential for this job. Now, I take it that this office of yours is designed to run businesses in assassination. Well, what I am asking is a small-scale genocide. Such is your destiny."

Igor gave a rather cruel-looking smile, and an apologetic one as well.

"I suppose you should know that I usually do not request this. Yes, I must ask you to kill certain type of people. They refer to themselves as "Tuatha de Danann". I have seen your future, and such is the way you will take. I came here personally because I cannot contact you in the previous manners I had employed to reach guests of mine. Are you willing to take this job?"

Abel rolled a coin in between his fingers. It was an American quarter, a rather clean quarter. Abel observed as the coin slipped between his fingers, as if dancing with them, just to appear on the opposite side of the hand. Quiet, Abel considered the nature of the offer. Igor said it was his destiny. Igor was someone who talked to somebody in their dreams, which would be a natural turn-off to the teenage male and female in a middle of a rather great dream. Igor used fortune telling to tell somebody their future. What other answer was there to give, really?

"Alright, I accept your offer. Name the price."

Truthfully told, Abel was rather intrigued by the job spelled out by the man in front of him. Igor was a man who appeared to be shady, and somewhat crazy. But not everyone can find this office. After all, considering that Abel cast multiple bounded fields all over the edifice. It was meant to drive away any intruders, and allow people who really needed Abel's services for the job.

The fact that Igor is here means that he made the requirements. That, or he penetrated the bounded fields, which Abel found somewhat difficult to believe. A regular magi would be unable to penetrate seven layers of barriers generated through the use of thaumaturgy.

So Abel will listen to the man in front of him. Igor grinned at Abel's response.

"Very well. I shall tell you what I will offer. If it's money, I cannot that. I can offer, however, an identity, and services that are quite valuable for the job. I am aware acquiring such items cost money that drains from your own resources, but rest assured, I will make sure you don't have to pay a single penny."

Abel cocked his head to the side, and grinned.

"So I'm taking this job for no losses then? And you will offer services? Sounds sweet enough for me. Help is always a nice thing to have in any situation, and I appreciate it. Give me the information regarding my identity and the group the next time we meet. Where do I fly to?"

"You will go to a place known as Fujimura Town. You will find it to your liking. I must tell you though, the main part to look out for are the rumors that circulate in that town. They are worth investigating in this job. Rumors are very powerful things. The human imagination is perhaps the greatest tool that God has ever gifted mankind. Anyways, I must say, before I go. You look a lot like somebody I have known quite a while back. He was very…remarkable. I expect great things out of you, Abel."

With that, Igor stood up and left the room. Abel felt the man leave the premises of the edifice, and extended his reach, feeling Igor step out of the last layer of the bounded field. He still could not fathom how the man simply walked through seven layers of magic barriers.

"Vincent, you said that Katherine bought a summer home in Fujimura Town after you two got married. Mind if I borrow the place? Contact Stark and let him know to meet me on the way there. Oh, and sell this place. I have a feeling I won't need this room anymore. Keep the furniture. Do whatever you want with it."

Without hearing Vincent's answer, Abel stood up, grabbed his coat and as he pulled his arms through the sleeves, he walked out of his office for what would be the last time. Why he would sell the office he was working in for four years at this point, he has no idea. But just like the intuition that told him to listen to Igor, it was that same intuition that made him decide to leave his office forever.

With a snap of his finger, he dispelled his bounded fields. No need for those either. It would've made some great rumors though. Igor did say that rumors held great power, so who knows what would've popped up in this old building? Anyways, it would've been a waste of magical energy. He would need it to kill off an entire group.

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><p>A tall black-haired man with red eyes watched a heavily-dressed figure as the figure approached him with a offer for a job. This man was Cain. Cain had red eyes and black hair, like before, and his hair was cut at around neck-length. He wore a black hooded jacket that stopped at around his waist, and he wore a black shirt underneath. He wore black pants and black shoes, and although these clothes would better be defined as casual, it looked classy on him. In fact, his presence and appearance makes anything appear classy on him. Next to him was a nodachi covered in a black sheath and a claymore also covered in a black sheath.<p>

Cain sat down on the rock, the moonlight illuminating his figure. He grinned at the man in front of him, as he just gave a very tempting business proposal. Cain's applying employer was a man in a coat of black. There should be a suit underneath that coat, but it was buttoned up, and Cain couldn't tell. The man in front of him was rather bulky too. The closest thing that Cain would say the man in front of him resembled was that of a Nazi soldier in the Third Reich of Germany during World War II.

…Actually, it wouldn't be too far to say that this man might be a Nazi soldier. A Nazi officer in fact.

The man adjusted the hat on his head, with a Nazi pin placed smugly in the middle of the cap, and cleared his throat. He then proceeded to push his glasses up, so that the moonlight caught the lenses and made the move much more impressive and charismatic on his part. Cain had to give him credit, had the man been dealing with other people rather than Cain, the move would have certainly impressed them and give them a more suitable impression of the Nazi soldier in front of them.

"Well, mister Cain, as you know, I seek to employ your services to engage combat against a certain group of people. Intelligence has dictated that there is a group of people with certain abilities that my group seeks to decimate off the planet of this earth. However, it would be greatly appreciated if you were to help us in our endeavors. We will supply help in any way possible. And we have a certain advance payment to give you for this job, and we hope you will accept it."

Cain listened to the man's words, than began to laugh. He laughed so hard that he doubled over. When he finally recovered, he stood up from the rock, and walked over to the man. He placed his face right next to the other man's, so close that their noses nearly touched, and smirked. The smirk Cain gave the man was so crude and sarcastic in nature that it would've offended pretty much anyone in the face of the planet. It took the man's best effort not to show his anger at such a rude face being made towards him, especially when he gave one of the best deals that could ever be offered to anybody.

"I will gladly take the job and that advance payment, whatever it is. I accept payment. But I don't accept services from employers. You see, accepting such a notion will be a rude understatement to my skill as an assassin. All I need is this nice black face, this nice black hoodie, my nice black shirt, my nice black jeans, my nice black shoes, my nice black nodachi, my nice black claymore, and my nice black heart. Of course, my face isn't black, but what does it matter? At least my hair is. All the tools I need to perform this job? Right here. So don't insult me any further, and I will carry out this job with style and grace. Do we have ourselves a deal?"

The man nodded stiffly, then added something else.

"While I do understand your desires, Mr. Cain, I must ask you to adopt the colors of our group. You seem to enjoy the color black, and you can do so in your own leisure, but my group prefers to announce themselves whenever they perform a job of some sort. Therefore, I must ask you to wear our company colors and pick a white uniform for the job."

The rest of the night went by silently.

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><p>Abel sat in the dining hall of a boat as the ship sailed to Japan, where Abel would then take a car to Fujimura Town, which had an industrial appearance, but was rural in location. It was the main location of the Kirijo Corporation, and the president of the Kirijo Group, Mitsuru Kirijo, also lived there, so the town is considered a hotspot, especially considering Mitsuru Kirijo's currently single maritial status. The company's original base was a city called Iwatodai, but they moved for unknown reasons, where they opened up a school there for the students. Besides that little tidbit of information, there was nothing else worth noting in terms of interest regarding the place besides the rather abnormal number of rumors that appear there at a given time.<p>

Abel sat in the dining hall, finishing up the profile regarding his new identity and the specifics of the town that was given to him by a woman in a blue uniform going by the name of Margaret, when the doors opened up and carts filed into the room. Of course, most would believe it was food being served to Abel during a long journey from America to Japan that set off quite a bit of time ago (in which Abel arrived on the boat via helicopter).

They would be both disappointed and shocked to find that it was not food, but weaponry.

Abel threw the folder down onto the table, and walked over. Stark, his weapons supplier, walked into the room. He was a man of a tall and lanky figure, who always wore a white lab coat. He had brown hair that always seemed to shoot out everywhere, and a rather gaunt face, that never seemed to be properly shaven.

"Anyways, Abel, I provided upgrades for all the weaponry you need. For example, this sniper rifle right here. A Walther WA2000. I modified it to extend the range due to a slight increase in the barrel range, and I fixed up the scope for several more functions."

As Abel picked up the rifle and aimed it around, Stark pointed out several sub-machine guns.

"Those are modified M2 Brownings. They are usually much bigger guns, but I dismantled them and cut the firepower in half in the form of sub-machine guns. Still pretty effective in combat."

Abel began to test the weights and practiced aiming with the sub-machine guns, Stein picked up the last two guns.

"These two are modified from the guns you usually use in your missions. This one is the Luger P08 pistol, and this one is the Thompson Contendor. Modified quite a bit, and now they don't break, so you can use them in close combat. Any questions, Abel?"

As Abel picked up his beloved pistols, he shook his head and smiled.

"None, just a thank you to your effort. You do a good job as always, Stark. Oh, and I'm on duty now. My name isn't Abel. For now, call me Akira Kusanagi."


	2. Chapter 2: Akira Kusanagi

**Note: **It was a long wait, and for myself, it felt somewhat rushed as I typed this. But that's okay, I wanted to space this out so certain action took up a chapter for itself, rather than go into the action as it is. After all, I am aiming for X-Men: First Class pace. It's not so rushed, just taking out unnnecessary things.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Persona, or anything else found in this story (like Type-Moon concepts and the like).

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Akira Kusanagi<strong>

_**April 10, 2019**_

_8:00 AM_

"Yo."

The class could only stare in silence at the boy in front of them. He was currently wearing a blue hoodie underneath his school uniform, which was the standard black button-up and black slacks. Although the school allowed for customization of the uniform, it still looked rather…well, in the minds of the males, weird, and in the minds of several of the females, awesome.

Nonetheless, the style fit the kid in front of them. He had blue hair that was messy in arrangement, but if it looked neater, the look would've made him less attractive. One of his eyes was clearly purple, and the other one was clearly red. Such eye color was rather strange, even among the kids in this school, who had eyes ranging in the colors of the rainbow. His face was rather feminine in structure, but his voice was clearly male. That, and his style of speech was rather rough. Perhaps he was foreign, or possibly a delinquent?

"Name's Akira Kusanagi. Sixteen years old, I come from America. Nice to meet you."

And so here were the thoughts of a certain Noriyuki Otani. Noriyuki Otani was a sixteen year old, class-proclaimed bookworm, who was quite the looker, should he actually have confidence in himself. His brown hair was rather curly, although it wasn't exactly an afro by this point. He was somewhat tall, definitely taller than Akira, but the way Noriyuki Otani carried himself was the exact opposite of the transfer student.

Noriyuki Otani thought that Akira Kusanagi was too mysterious for his own good. He wouldn't want to get mixed up with that kid, no matter what…

And so here were the thoughts of a certain Haruka Ohara. Haruka Ohara was a twenty year old history teacher, who was also quite the looker, except she had confidence in herself. Her hair was a black sheen, which flowed down until a little bit below her shoulders. Her eyes were of a brownish-ruby, and her skin was about snowy as the transfer student. She stood slightly taller than a Japanese woman, although she was still shorter than Akira.

Haruka Ohara, as the teacher, thought that Akira might make a rather interesting student, and looked forward to working with him as a teacher, especially since this was her first year.

And so here were the thoughts of a certain Anna Seijuro. Anne Seijuro had brown hair that was cut near the small of her back. She usually ties this into two ponytails on the side of her head, very much like the actress Rise Kujikawa did during her idol days. Anna had somewhat white skin, and hazel eyes. It's been remarked quite often how similar she looks in appearance to Rise Kujikawa. She never made any comments on this. She was of average Japanese girl height.

Anna Seijuro thought that Akira Kusanagi was a somewhat cold but cute kid. "Yo", in such a monotonous tone, can't convey so much information, so she has to make the assumption that he was the kind of person who rather sit and read rather than talk.

And finally, here were the thoughts of a certain Hiroyuki Ayaka. Hiroyuki Ayaka was among one of the taller kids in the class. He had blonde hair that was somewhat messy, and a rather confident swagger on him. The closest thing to describing him was a superhero. He was pretty much good at everything, maybe not the best in some cases, but definitely among the best. His blue eyes sparked with energy, and the grin that he always wore rarely leaves his face.

Hiroyuki Ayaka thought that Akira Kusanagi would definitely make a dream sidekick for any hero of justice, which is exactly what Hiroyuki Ayaka aspired to be.

Everyone else had thoughts, of course, but those thoughts are irrelevant. At best, those people are background characters, so moving on.

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><p>The entire school day passed with little trouble. During lunch, Akira was pestered by many different students who wanted to get to know him better, but he refused, and instead went up to the roof, with some people following him, in hopes that they can sit near him.<p>

As soon as he opened the door, he began to climb the fence, and people were shocked. Was he going to jump? What happened? He was monotonous in tone, maybe he's depressed? What to do? They can't have a suicide in the school area, it would kill the amazing reputation they managed to develop…

And he did jump, but not in the direction they thought he would jump. He jumped right onto the roof the little edifice that had the door leading inside of the school. The ladder broke earlier the year, and no one bothered to get it repaired. Up there, Akira opened up his phone, and at that time, it began to ring. He answered the phone, while people watched in amazement of his rather professional motor skills.

"Abel? It's Margaret. We have met earlier."

"Yeah, but I'm Akira here. Call me that, will you?"

Akira, upon meeting Margaret the first time, thought her to be somewhat of a mysterious figure, even if she seemed nice enough. But the one thing that interested Akira was in how content she seemed to be. She seemed to find everything in life fulfilling, something Akira never had the chance to witness in a living person before. It was like she realized her answer in the biggest question of her life, and finding the answer satisfying, she could live without care of that question. To Akira, Margaret seemed to live a life that was complete.

"Very well. My master wanted me to inform of you two things. One, to come to the alley behind the antique store called "Hero's Tools". Two, to warn you of a possible obstacle as you go there."

"Alright. Thanks, I will be there."

With that, there was a click from Margaret's side, and the line went dead.

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><p>Akira managed to shake off the stragglers who really wanted to talk to him. Right now, he was busy. He would try and make some friends (more like extras for his disguise) later, but right now he needed to meet Igor. He needed more info, and he was interested in this service Igor had to offer.<p>

Turning a corner, he passed a man wearing a rather large coat, with dark glasses and a bowler hat. The two of them only walked a few steps away from each other when Akira, noticing his intent, drew his Thompson Contender as the man drew a rather large machete from inside his jacket. The two weapons clashed, but Akira's pistol was aimed straight at his attacker's chest. He pulled the trigger, and the man flew in the direction of the bullet and landed on his back. Looking around, Akira noticed the street was somewhat empty, and many of the stores were closed. There was also a strange mist surrounding all of them. What was this?

"You don't mean to tell me that you have no idea what you're doing in this place?"

Akira looked at his enemy, who stood up, and dusted the broken bullet off his coat. As the man adjusted the collar of his coat, Akira could see the rather sharp teeth in that grin of his. The man drew another machete from his coat, and peered over his dark glasses to stare at Akira with his yellow eyes. The tip of the machetes touched the ground, and Akira could swear that he heard them give off a screeching sound, even with them barely touching the ground. And the screeching sound did not come off from where the tip of the blades met the ground. It was from the very blade itself, and it sounded like a screech of pain.

"Name's Jack. Nothing else you have to know about me, besides the fact that I am part of the group that you are opposing and that they sent me to kill you. My Persona is of the Death Arcana, his name's the Ripper."

Persona? Igot was going to pay for not letting Akira know about something as essential as Persona. What was Persona? Was that the reason the street was so empty, and filled with mist that Akira never noticed before?

"My Persona is nothing special in itself, as it pretty much only has the power to do what other Personas can do at their most basic form. But, it values the thought of death and killing. And it allowed me to amplify my already exceptional abilities of illusion and bounded fields."

With that, Jack began to swing his blade around, and Akira could see something behind him, something with a face similar to that of a fly's, except more demonic, with guillotines for hands, and dark-green in color…

Was that a Persona? The Persona "The Ripper"?

"I'd advise you run. You can extend your life by a few precious minutes, kid."

Akira took his advice. He took out his Luger, and began to run, while jumping at times and twisting in mid-air to fire off bullets at the advancing Jack. This was too quick. He only got the details, and now he already had to engage in combat? Especially with a foe that can use magic naturally, an ability many do not have!

Jack began to cut away at the bullets, and took after Akira as Akira made his way to his destination.


	3. Chapter 3: Persona

**Note:** Thanks for the reviews, Kuro! Anyways, finished this in a spurt of inspiration, I rather like this. I suggest listening to Kara no Kyoukai: Fighting Medley on Youtube, it really sets the mood for the fighting here. Anyways, enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Persona, or anything referenced in this story (like Type-Moon, etc.).

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Persona<strong>

_**April 10, 2019**_

_5:00 PM_

"Dammit…!"

As the shots rang out in the empty streets, with Akira running from his assailant, he spent the time considering what the purpose of this field is. The theory on a boundary field is to create something similar to a barrier, one that surrounds the caster. If one were to try and enter the area of a boundary field, they would feel a very uncomfortable itch that would force them towards the opposite direction. There was also the mist, and if Akira recalled correctly, the man named Jack called his Persona "The Ripper".

As Akira turned the corner, he was shocked to find Jack right there, slicing at his face. The attack was a rather strong slash using the right arm and slashing from the left shoulder towards Akira's face. Akira barely had enough time to lift his Luger and Thompson up to block the attack, and found himself being flung to the wall of a building on the other side of the street, smashing straight into it.

Sliding down, Akira put his guns away, knowing them to be useless. Even though he was silently congratulating himself just now on bringing them, since he could hide them easily and they could be whipped out for situations like this, he still cursed his luck going against an opponent who can slice through bullets of pistol size, and cursed his luck even more for not bringing bigger guns.

So he would have to deal with it the way close combat fighters dealt with things on the battlefield. He drew a combat knife of pretty sizeable length, although he kept his pocket knife right where it should be for later use…his pocket.

As Jack began to swing his machetes around rather dangerously, Akira held his knife in reverse grip and charged forward, holding the knife closely to his torso. As the machete sliced in, Akira ducked in his charge, and he appeared right underneath Jack's machetes. At this distance, he can try and attempt to cut him…

But his coat could block a bullet. Akira should be using chances like these more productively.

So productively would mean disarming the opponent. Akira slashed the left elbow of his opponent, causing Jack to loosen his grip. Akira scowled at how shallow the cut was. Under normal circumstances, he could've cut off his opponent's arm. Jumping up, he backflipped and kicked the machete out of Jack's left hand, and landing on his feet, he could see the glint of silver as the machete landed several yards away behind Jack.

Jack lifted his machete over his head, and brought it downward. Akira blocked the attack with his knife, and took out his pocket knife. Flipping it open, he threw it upwards, straight at Jack's face. The man leaned backwards to avoid the attack, and Akira kicked forward, pivoting around the bigger man's waist and cutting into his torso. With a grunt of pain, Jack turned to try and face Akira, but Akira moved as well, and the two of them moved in a circle, with their backs to each other. After a few seconds of moving this way, Akira and Jack kicked forward in one step, and in another step, they kicked back towards each other, Akira stomping his left feet to hold his position while slashing his knife upwards in a downwards fashion, and Jack slashing downwards while holding the machete in reverse grip as well. It looked like Akira was performing an uppercut on Jack, and Jack was performing an elbow blow on Akira.

Their attacks met, and it felt like a force of wind pushed back all the mist surrounding the two of them. Akira had difficulty breathing, as the air disappeared in the vacuum that was just created. As the air settled once more, and Akira could breathe once more, he saw that his opponent had his machete raised over his head once more, and Akira switched the grip on his knife so that it was upwards, and slashed upwards in a stab motion straight at Jack's face. The blades met once more, and Akira was thrown back.

Landing on his back, Akira used the force of his movement to roll back into a crouching position. He then kicked off from there, and began to run into a different alleyway. He turned several corners, which would mean taking a right after this alley would lead him to the antique store. From there, it would be where he would have to meet Igor.

But the opponent, the assassin who was sent to kill him, was there when he turned the last corner. Akira cursed silently underneath his breath. He didn't want to deal with a man with such a thing called Persona! Jack held out his hand, and Akira saw something like a blue card floating on his palm before the man crushed it in his hand with a bang. Blue sparks shot out of his hand, and flames covered Jack as the green, humanoid fly figure with guillotines for arms appeared. Jack, his grin sharper than ever, let his index finger point straight at Akira's heart.

"The Ripper, Agi!"

Akira felt something hot explode in front of him as a ball of fire struck him in the chest, and he flew back once more. Catching himself in the air, he shifted his center of gravity, a feat only possible to those who are trained killers, and landed on his own two feet. He could feel the burns on his chest…

"You survived even that, kid? I'm surprised. Guess machetes and Persona skills don't work on you. There's only one thing I can do to deal with a person like you, right?"

Taking off his hat and glasses, Akira could see that Jack was a bald man with those yellow eyes and cruel grin. He could also see why he wore those hates and glasses. Jack had terrible burns all over his face, with no eyebrows or hair whatsoever. His grin was permanent, because his lips were also burned off, as well as his eyelids, which is why he probably wore those glasses. Akira also took note of the fact that Jack appeared to be nearly twice his own height.

"I guess Bajiquan would finish you off. I need to use a skill that would crush your head. If I can't cut you or burn you, then the only thing to do is to smash you. I guess smashing was all I really did to you anyways."

Akira understood this. At the current distance, which was about ten meters, Jack could clear that in less than a second, seeing his speed in catching up to Akira in all different corners. Approximately 0.7 seconds in fact, if taken into comparison with other speeds Akira has seen in the past. However, Jack needed to aim precisely, which is why he took off all the headgear, and Akira could now make a clear shot of his head, so it might take 0.8 seconds. He had that much of a time interval to reload his Thompson and shoot him in the head.

That was more than enough to take care of this bastard.

As Jack moved forward, Akira flicked a bullet as well as drawing his Thompson Contender out of his jacket pocket. He opened the pistol in 0.2 seconds, leaving him about seventy-five percent of the time he had left to finish off Jack. Akira swung up his gun to catch the bullet inside of it and closed it. That took 0. 3 seconds, leaving him another 0.3 seconds to aim the gun and shoot Jack in the head. His opponent drew his fist back, and Akira swore he could see the mist and air forming a vortex similar to that of a spear right there at his fist…

Was this similar to Li Shu Wen's Bajiquan? His spear skills? Or a combination of both? Doesn't matter. Akira swung his Thompson downwards, and took careful aim. 0.1 seconds left.

The fist was coming right at his face as he pulled the trigger. Both of them wanted to win. Both of them knew one of them was going to die.

Akira felt the fist smash into his skull, and it felt like all the nerves in his brain exploded, as his gun shot out the bullet that struck Jack's right ear. He lost…! At the end of his life, Akira knew the words to say. The words he needed to say to stay alive…!

"Per…so…na…"

As blue flames engulfed his vision, Jack gave a roar of shock and jumped back as a black figure slashed at him in retaliation of the attack, leaving a three-pronged gash on his chest. Akira saw that the black figure was armored in a way that his armor appeared like skin on its body. It wore a red mask on its face, but its white hair was similar in style to Akira's. It had black coat on, with a hood, and both its eyes gleamed purple and red. Its right arm, the one that just attacked Jack, had a claw with fingers twice as long as the one found on the other hand.

_I am thou, and art thou I. Thou art the one who opens the door. I am Lleu Llaw Gyffes, the one with the skillful hand and the one who is skill in all. I am the guardian of your soul, and I come to you at your time of need._

With a roar, Akira's skull and nerves reconnected itself as the boy grabbed both his knife and pistol and began to attack in rage as Jack delivered more killing blows. His knife attacks began to cut at Jack's neck and his pistol shots riddled Jack's chest as Akira continued to attack in a blind rage. He could vaguely see Lleu Llaw Gyffes stabbing The Ripper multiple times with its clawed hand. The Ripper was slicing away at Akira's Persona the best it could, like Jack dealt killing blows all over Akira's body the best he could.

It hurt. Akira could feel his ribs cave in, but restore themselves. He could feel his spine break, but restore itself. He could feel his cheek cave in, but it restored itself. In the drunkenness of the battle, his Persona kept restoring Akira back to shape to continue fighting.

It was like his own soul told him not to give up…!

Soon, Akira got Jack onto the ground, and he stabbed him repeatedly until the bigger man did not move. Akira stared in a blind rage at his opponent's face, and he could see the lidless eyes look at Akira in face, the lipless grin barely breathing…

He aimed the Thompson Contender right at Jack's forehead. He had to pull the trigger and kill him.

Kill him…kill him…kill…him…

Kill-

Akira's vision turned black as his Persona vanished and all the pain returned to him in full form, dealing enough pain both mentally and physically to him as he re-experienced the trauma dealt to his body and mind of being killed and revived over and over again. He fell sideways, and did not stir.


	4. Chapter 4: The Velvet Room

**Note:** Thanks for the review! To clarify, Abel is actually sixteen years old. His position is close to that of Sousuke Sagara of _Full Metal Panic!_ fame. And regarding the one-sided thing for Cain, well, he didn't get enough screen time for me to develop just how one-sided it's going to be. Next chapter may take a bit of time, school is getting onto me again.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Persona, or whatever is found here that I made reference to.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: The Velvet Room<strong>

_**April 10, 2019**_

_5:30 PM_

Akira woke up with a start. To his shock, he could only see with one eye, his right eye. His left eye was dark, and when he reached up to touch what was covering it, he felt a rough texture on it. He was wearing a medical eyepatch, one that has two bands so that the patch itself can slide between the eyes, making it easy to adjust the position of the patch itself. Looking around, he appeared to be sitting in a large ballroom, but with a single round table. And he was sitting in right in front of that very table.

"Welcome, to the Velvet Room."

Akira looked up, and to his chagrin, found Igor with that rather annoying smile on his face. Next to him was Margaret, who just gave that stoic expression of hers, and nodded silently at Akira's direction. Looking out of his good eye, Akira gave Igor a glare, and opened his mouth to speak harsh words meant to reprimand the old man in front of him, before Igor cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"I did tell you that I was going to offer my services to you in any way possible."

It was then Akira understood. This power, Persona, was exactly what Igor had in mind. Why Igor needed Akira, he had no idea, but Akira knew that he was going to get his anger. His anger being taken over by a magnificent curiosity, Akira watched Igor take a deep breath.

"Your power, Persona, is a manifestation of your soul. If the soul was a fortress, the Persona is the guardian who guards the door to enter the gate. The Persona is a necessary part of the soul, so if one wished to live, they cannot let their Persona be destroyed. In most cases, it's impossible to destroy a Persona. However, this is where you come in."

As Igor drew out a deck of cards and began to place them on the table, Akira recognized the twenty-cards placed on the table as the Major Arcana. Looking down on them, Akira watched as Igor began to slide several cards towards Akira's side of the table, then slide the rest towards Igor.

"The reason I hired you was because of your Persona's special ability. You see, your Persona is quite unlike any other Personas in existence, although I could recognize the potential of you being owner to such a Persona. Lleu Llaw Gyffes is a Persona that is known to be skilled in all, when in reality, it is skilled in the areas other Personas are incapable of performing. In essence, Lleu Llaw Gyffes has no combat ability."

No combat ability. How was that possible? Akira took his eyes off the cards to look at Igor with a stare of absolute shock. If his Persona was one with no combat ability, how was it able to fight off Jack and his Persona? It didn't seem possible. With a click of his tongue, Igor corrected himself.

"When I mean no combat ability, what I mean is that Lleu Llaw Gyffes would be unable to cast spells like Agi. This handicap is not terribly bad, nor will it affect the overall outcome of your battles, since you are capable of casting your own spells as a magus. However, Lleu Llaw Gyffes is interesting in three ways."

Holding up his right hand, Igor lifted three fingers, and began to count down the abilities of Akira's Persona.

"The first ability is its ability of seeing what cannot be seen. The ability manifested itself in your left eye, which is why we placed an eyepatch with sealing properties, as viewing the world in two perspectives like that at the same time will automatically kill your brain, as no human brain is capable of perceiving information like that. Move your eyepatch over to cover your right eye."

Taking Igor's words to heart, Akira moved his eyepatch somewhat tentatively, keeping his left eye closed. After making sure his right eye was completely covered, he opened it, and found that the Velvet Room was no longer velvet in color, but more light-blue. Looking at both Igor and Margaret, Akira could see the energy flowing through their bodies, and a bright light in different parts of their body. Viewing the light, Akira could see glimpses of a figure fading away in Igor, and splotches of red in Margaret. Moving the eyepatch back, he asked suspiciously.

"What was that?"

"That, Akira, was the Brionac. It is a cognitive ability, which allows you to scan and view the life and death of an enemy. You can find their weaknesses and hindrances, and will be able to deal as such. Striking in the right place may also result in instant death, although it is difficult to strike such a spot. Most of your future battles will have you relying on this ability quite a bit."

One finger was placed down as Igor continued his explanation.

"The second ability is that your Persona is useful in one form of combat. Against other Personas. Earlier, you saw that Lleu Llaw Gyffes was cutting into The Ripper. That is the second ability, and the pure reason why I chose to hire you. Your Persona is a killer, and it is capable of destroying other Personas, an ability most Personas do not have."

The second finger went down to touch Igor's palm, leaving one last finger.

"Lastly, as long as your Persona is in use, whenever you deal with other Persona users, you will never die. All fatal wounds will heal themselves, and if you are killed, your Persona reverses all damages and revives your body. You also saw this effect. I believe Jack killed you maybe fifteen times before you managed to force him onto the ground."

Now that was a shock. Akira could barely take in the meanings of the words, but he understood. In essence, he was immortal and invincible. A confidence built up in him, and he was about to speak once more before Igor cut him off once more.

"Ah, yes, one last thing. Even if you're invincible, like every other hero who was once invincible, there is a way to kill those heroes. I can tell that your potential does not escape this fact. There is a way for you to die, so I would exercise caution when using such a Persona. Also, most of your battles will not be against Persona users. In retrospect, your Persona is absolutely useless minus the scan ability."

Well, that was a blow to Akira's pride. He didn't even try to talk. Who was he going to have to fight that would make such a potentially powerful Persona useless save its initial ability?

"Which is why you happen to have another skill, and my service comes in. Of course, I will explain more in due time, as explaining it now will not be able to help you, and may in fact hinder you. It must be discovered by yourself in the journey, not through giving of knowledge through speech. Now, look at these cards right here."

Akira was a little miffed, as Igor just took away all the excitement of the situation. Looking at the cards, he saw that the Fool, the Magician, the Priestess, the Empress, the Emperor, the Lovers, the Justice, and the Fortune were all on his side of the table. The rest of the Arcanas were on Igor's side of the table.

"This is how the battles will play out. I hired you to kill a group of dangerous Persona users, since they plan to upset the human world as we know it, in the most devastating of ways. I seek to avoid this, even at the price of many deaths. However, in the future, you will meet others who will strengthen your powers through friendship, and it is up to you to keep those friendships strong, as your power will grow as well. Even better, some of these companions will join you in your battle. Powerful as they may be, you are still outnumbered, so be warned."

Akira could only nod. He was somewhat confused, but given Igor's method of giving information, he would only be able to go along with the plan and deal with any complications. Maybe this is the only way it can be done. Akira had definitely been in situations like that before. Smiling, Igor finished his speech with a rather surprising statement.

"The power you hold within the depths of your soul is quite unlike that found in others. I have met few who had powers like yours, and only two of them, previous guests of the Velvet Room, could match up to you in power. I still remember a long time ago when I first met young Alexander. He later became one of the greatest conquerors the world has ever seen, due to the nature of his Persona's ability. Francis was very much the same, and he defeated all of the Spanish Armada. You will have a power quite unlike that of others. Be wary."

Nodding, Akira stood up. He knew that his visit to this room was over, at least for today. Standing up with him, Margaret reached into her pocket and placed something into Akira's hand. Looking at it, Akira found a dagger with a wide blade, with a blue color theme and a hilt of strange proportions, as most of it consisted of a steel orb.

"This weapon is called Fragarach. It is a weapon usable only by Lleu Llaw Gyffes, so you can only use that Persona if you hope to use the weapon. Your Persona will know how to use it when the time comes."

Why do they make Personas seem like they come in more than one form? Or as if a person could use more than one Persona? Akira wanted to ask them those very questions, but decided against it, and pocketed the Fragarach, adjusting his jacket as to avoid the shape being seen from the outside. Igor then exited him from the room.

"You will be back here again, of your own accord. Until then, farewell."

Walking towards the door at the end of the velvet ballroom, Akira waved behind him, not looking back as he opened the door back to the real world.


End file.
